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I stop and meet his glare with one of my own. “She disobeyed one order to follow another.”

“Not to interrupt, but what are you looking at?” Hyva asks, coming beside me and holding his own torch up to the relief in front of us.

“I’m trying to figure out the symbology.” I point at a few of the glyphs. “Do you happen to know what any of this means?”

Raiz joins me on my other side. “No.”

“I don’t either.” Hyva moves down. “I didn’t even know these were here.”

“Should we go find the book?”

“Yes.” Raiz puts a hand on the small of my back and guides me toward a darkened corner. “There’s a staircase up. The library should be on the top floor.”

Light from the three torches bounces off the white stone with occasional gold veins running through it. I want to stop and examine it, but I have a hard enough time keeping up with my companions’ long strides. The stairs curve around the side of the temple. We come to a landing but don’t stop. There are at least two more floors until we get to the top of the temple.

I gasp when we reach the upper landing. It’s freezing, but the top of the temple is high above ground level, showcasing an endless expanse of shadowy land. Huge panes of glass enclose the roof, creating the feeling of being outdoors without the frigid discomfort. Not that it is by any means warm. The sky above is filled with thousands of twinkling stars, more than I’ve ever seen before. It’s a sight so beautiful it hurts.

“This way.” Raiz’s warm hand on my back guides me to the left and down a long corridor. “The library should be at the end and on the left.”

The scent of smoke seems to become stronger as we get closer to the end of the hall.

“Do you smell that?” I ask.

“Yes.” Raiz stops our progress and looks around. “Hyva stay with Neev.” He and Vynia stalk down the hall with weapons drawn. They stop on either side of the door and share a look before Vynia kicks it open and Raiz enters.

“Should we go?” I start walking, but Hyva’s arm wraps around my waist and pulls me back.

“Nice try, but no. We’ll wait for them.”

“It’s clear.”I assume the message was sent to both of us because Hyva drops his hand and starts walking alongside me.

“Would have been fine,” I singsong quietly.

My good mood evaporates in an instant as I take in the sight before me. Everything in the room has been torched. Piles of ash coat the floor and smoke damage stains the walls. A stone table is the only thing left standing in the room.

I cross the room, ash floating up as I walk through it. “How did this happen? How could a fire be contained to only one room?”

There’s no sign of damage in the hall but the door, made of wood, didn’t burn. It doesn’t even have smoke damage. The shelves that once held the volumes of books are gone, a few large, splintered pieces of wood are all that’s left.

As someone who’s spent her life surrounded by books, the thought of lighting all that knowledge, all that work on fire is unthinkable. It’s horrendous. How many of these books can’t be replicated? How much history has been erased?

“Who would have done this?” I turn back to look at Raiz and find him having a private conversation with Vynia.

“There’s only one person who would want this library destroyed,” Vynia says quietly as she scans the damage.

CHAPTER29

RAIZ

* * *

“It had to be the Sovereign.” Not one fucking book was spared. Everything burnt to ash. I run a hand through my hair as I fight the urge to punch the wall.

All this work.

Everything I went through, dragged my crew through.

Stars, I kidnapped Neev for nothing.